The Way of Spiritual Journey

Chapter 53, Imperial Rewards

"Indeed. Thank you for your favor, Princess. It would be our honor if the Wangcai Cooperative could have your participation." Li Lang smiled. This was a windfall, and it would be unacceptable for the royal family to refuse it.

However, Li Lang was well aware that there is no such thing as a free lunch.

"From today onwards, the Princess will be a partner of our cooperative. For every piece of jade soap sold, the Princess will receive a share." Li Lang was also very generous, knowing that this pie was too big for him to handle alone. Sharing some with others was a plan he had already decided on.

Li Lang had thought that his generosity would earn him the princess's approval, but that was not the case.

The eldest princess didn't reply, only staring at Li Lang expressionlessly. This must be the legendary domineering female CEO.

"Ahem." Li Lang was slightly embarrassed, and could only ask again, "Does the Princess think what I said was inappropriate?"

"It's not that it's inappropriate," the princess shook her head and said, "it's quite inappropriate. Our cooperation is not short-term, it's long-term. It's not just about jade soap, but about all your future businesses. I can protect and support you."

"Hey, this woman has quite the appetite. Wait, how did she know I'd have other business opportunities in the future? Is she testing me?" Li Lang wondered to himself.

"All my business? This jade soap is all my business." Li Lang shook his head as well.

"No, young master's actions are already extraordinary. I believe you have far-reaching plans." The princess did not back down, and shook her head again. "I don't need too much of your share, twenty percent, how about that?"

Okay, since you like shaking your head, then I'll shake mine too.

"No, one percent is my limit." Li Lang also lost his temper and shook his head again.

"Deal." The princess smiled and nodded.

Li Lang's head got stuck in mid-air, and he almost twisted his neck.

"That's it? Shouldn't it have ended after just one disagreement?"

"Did they just break up the two sides? They were careless after all; this is a lack of martial ethics." Li Lang stared at the princess in disbelief.

Seeing Li Lang's embarrassed expression, the Princess and Chunyan exchanged a smile.

"Take this jade token. With it, you will be able to travel freely within the territory of Dayuan." The princess took out a jade token from her bosom and handed it to Li Lang with a smile.

Li Lang glanced at it and was startled. "Why does this thing look so familiar? Isn't this the blood jade pendant that Chu Yan gave me? Didn't I sell it? How did it end up in the hands of the Princess?" A series of questions filled Li Lang's mind.

"Oh, I took the wrong one." Seeing Li Lang's expression, the princess wore that enigmatic smile again. "Does he look familiar?"

"No, no, I've never even seen it before, how could it look familiar?" Li Lang shook his head repeatedly. He was joking, this thing was a source of trouble, and he absolutely couldn't touch it.

"Sigh, think of that Chu Yan, a young woman who hasn't even married yet, she gave her life and fortune to someone else, who then sold her for two hundred taels of silver. Tell me, shouldn't this person be struck by lightning?" The princess stared into Li Lang's eyes and asked fiercely.

"Hmm, if that's the case, that person has probably already been struck by lightning." Li Lang pondered for a moment, then nodded solemnly.

Isn't he the one who was struck by lightning?

Seeing Li Lang nod solemnly, the princess's lips curled into a slight smile. "How about we make another deal?"

"Please speak, Your Highness." Li Lang nodded again subconsciously.

"Find the one who was struck by lightning for me. I want to avenge my sister." As soon as the princess said this, Li Lang's mind went blank, as if he had been struck by lightning.

"This fledgling swallow is also a princess?" Li Lang was a bit stunned. "That shouldn't be the case. If she were a princess, would she have been chased and killed in the first place, and then resort to these tricks? It doesn't make sense. There must be something wrong here."

"I can't do it!" Putting aside whether it makes sense or not, shaking your head at this point is definitely the right thing to do.

"Then help me rescue the fledgling swallow. You can do that." The princess changed the subject, revealing her true purpose.

"Well, this is a sophisticated scheme. They've been playing games for ages, just waiting for this." Li Lang thought to himself, "The old saying is true: you can't trust women with good figures, and you can't trust women who are beautiful."

Just as Li Lang was about to shake his head, the Princess's voice came again, "If you help me this time, I will owe you a favor. In the future, I will do whatever you ask of me." The Princess's words became serious. "I" was the official terminology.

Hearing the princess's words, Li Lang was somewhat stunned. "Are things going to escalate this much? But I don't want to play with you!"

"Alright, I'll take that as your agreement. You certainly haven't disappointed me." Just as Li Lang was in a daze, the princess nodded solemnly, and the matter was settled.

"This is my personal jade pendant. Take it. No one in the Great Yuan territory will dare to disrespect you. If anyone does, go ahead and fight them. This is a special permission granted by the Emperor."

At this moment, the eldest princess took out another jade pendant. The white jade was flawless, and the carving was done with just a few strokes. At first glance, it looked like a phoenix dancing in the sky, but upon closer inspection, it was the character "长" (Chang) of Princess Changping. Such skill must have come from the hand of a master.

"Alright, this matter is settled. I won't delay your fortune any longer." The princess slapped the jade pendant into Li Lang's hand, then stood up, ready to take her leave.

"No, is that all?" Li Lang held the princess's jade pendant tightly, not daring to let go.

If she loosened her grip, the princess would definitely not catch it, and it would fall to the ground and shatter into pieces, which would be a really big mistake.

Just as Li Lang was holding this hot potato, unsure of what to do, the Princess stopped in her tracks.

"Look at you, such a big boss, leading these rough men to do business. You probably don't even get a hot meal every day, do you?" the princess asked.

"Not really." Li Lang was still pondering how to get rid of this hot potato when he was suddenly asked by the princess, so he answered instinctively.

"It's pitiful that there's no woman with you." The eldest princess nodded. "How about this, I'll bestow Chunyan upon you. She can cook and do laundry on a daily basis. Hmm, it's settled then."

"what?"

Li Lang and Chunyan exclaimed in surprise at the same time.

"Princess, I don't want to." Before Li Lang could speak, Chunyan spoke up first.

Upon hearing that the woman was unwilling, Li Lang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hmph!" The eldest princess snorted coldly, glancing at Chunyan. "Do you think you can have your way of deciding this? Imperial gifts are not to be refused, understand?"

The princess turned cold, and Chunyan dared not speak, looking at her with a pitiful expression.